Children of Paradise
by OfPearlsAndShoelaces
Summary: Stranded alone on a lush tropical island, young children Katniss and Peeta live a simple and fulfilling life together. As burgeoning teenagers, their once easy and carefree relationship blossoms into something much more. An Everlark retelling of "The Blue Lagoon."


**Written for EverlarkianArchive's Movies in the Month of May challenge on tumblr. I do not own** _ **The Hunger Games**_ **or _The Blue Lagoon_.**

" _The thing had been conducted just as the birds conduct their love affairs. An affair absolutely natural, absolutely blameless and without sin. A marriage according to Nature, without feasts or guests, consummated with accidental cynicism under the shadow of a religion a thousand years dead."_ _  
_

― _Henry de Vere Stacpoole,_ The Blue Lagoon

* * *

The massive ship cut through the crystal clear ocean like a warm knife through butter. The day was fine and breezy; the cool, salty sea air stinging the wind burnt faces of the two children perched atop the bowsprit. The little girl relished the spray of the sea on her cheeks and the breeze in her hair, free of its bonnet for what felt like the first time in all of her seven years. The little boy set his eyes on the sun sinking in the horizon, turning the sky the most brilliant shade of orange imaginable. His only regret was that he had no paints onboard the ship to memorialize the occasion.

"Hey you kids! Git down from there! It's dangerous!" The children scrambled back to the deck at once, heeding their elder's warning. They recognized the man staring back at them as a sailor on the ship with his long, tangled hair and intimidating leer.

"I'm sorry, sir," The boy said, gazing up at the older man through long blond eyelashes. "We only wanted to know if we could see Panem from here; we weren't trying to cause any trouble." The girl nodded fervently beside him.

"Who're you two travelin' with?" The sailor asked.

"My father," the boy answered promptly. "Arthur Mellark."

"Hmmm, well let's find this Arthur Mellark then." The sailor grabbed the children by the scruffs of their necks and led them down the deck of the ship. He smelled strongly of the rum so favored by many of the crew.

"Peeta! Katniss!" A well- dressed man appeared panting from the lower level of the ship. "Where on earth… I've been looking for you two all over."

"Found 'em dangling off the bowsprit, sir," the sailor said.

"My heavens! Children, come here at once!"

"We're sorry, Uncle Arthur," the little girl called Katniss mumbled.

"Yes, we only wanted to see-" Peeta began, but his father cut him off.

"It does not matter why you did it, Peeta. Now thank this gentleman for saving you before you plummeted to your death."

Peeta turned his admonished blue eyes on the sailor. "Thank you, Mr…"

"Abernathy," the sailor said.

"Abernathy," the boy recited. "We won't do it again." Mr. Abernathy grunted to the children and nodded to Mr. Mellark before disappearing below deck.

Arthur Mellark gave a resigned sigh, placing a gentle hand on each child's head. "I know you fancy yourselves adventurers, but the deck of a ship is a dangerous thing. It is no place to play around. I want both of you to make it to Panem in one piece. Do you understand?" The children nodded. "Good. Now off to bed for the both of you."

Once tucked snugly into their shared pallet in the dark compartment, Katniss rolled over to face Peeta. She could tell he was still awake in the absence of his deep breathing. "I think I saw Heaven from the bowsprit today," she whispered. "Where my mother and father live now. Just beyond the sunset, Peeta. I saw it."

The boy's eyes fluttered open to meet her earnest gaze, and though he was scarcely a year older than her, he knew better than to contest her on this point. "I saw it too," he whispered back. Her eyes opened so wide that Peeta could clearly see their sparking gray depths, even in the total darkness surrounding them. "It was beautiful, wasn't it?"

"Tell me what it's like," she begged, and he obliged, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame. She snuggled into his side, and he began.

"Heaven is the best place in the whole entire world. The sky looks like the sunset all the time, with pink and red and orange streaks all blending together into the most beautiful eventide you can ever imagine. There's trees to climb up and meadows to play in and the air is always fresh with the scent of wildflowers. Any time you want fresh bread or cheese buns or pastries, they appear right in front of you, still warm and ready to eat. And best of all, everyone you love is there. Your mother and father, and… and my big brother…" Peeta paused in his description to find that Katniss was already deep asleep next to him. The gentle swaying of the ship combined with his own, soothing voice must have lulled her into dreamland. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and settled his head on the pillow right next to hers so that the tip of her nose tickled his cheek, and drifted into slumber almost quickly as she had.

It felt like no time at all when the pair was being shaken roughly awake by a dark figure looming above them. "Wake up!" the gruff voice boomed out in the dark. "We have to move!" Rubbing her eyes blearily, Katniss rolled off the pallet and reached for her dressing gown and shoes. "No, there's no time fer that!" The man grabbed the children by the scruffs of their necks and pushed them toward the narrow staircase leading to the deck of the ship.

The sun had not yet appeared on the eastern horizon when Katniss and Peeta stumbled out onto the main deck, but the chaos was evident even in the dark of night. Passengers and sailors alike scrambled around frantically in an obvious panic. Great tufts of thick gray smoke billowing up from a trapdoor at the back end of the ship was the obvious reason for the chaos. "Gunpowder," the brusque voice said from behind, and the children recognized that it was Mr. Abernathy once more. "It's gonna blow and there ain't nothin' we can do to stop it. This way!" He herded the children to the port side where a small rowboat awaited. One boat was in the water already, full of people and headed away from the certain disaster. "Your daddy's comin' son," Mr. Abernathy said in response to the anxiety on Peeta's face. "I promised him I'd get you two outta' here. Let's go!"

Katniss and Peeta scrambled into the boat and clung tightly to each other as the man climbed in after and lowered all three of them into the black water below. As soon as the tiny boat hit the surface, he grabbed the oars, and with each powerful stroke of his arms, took them further away from the doomed ship. It was not a moment too soon. No sooner were they a few hundred yards from the ship that the inevitable explosion occurred with an earth-shaking BOOM. Katniss covered her ears and tucked her face into Peeta's chest. He put his thin arms around her just like he did in their bed at night, in every effort to protect her. Debris rained down around them, but Mr. Abernathy kept rowing until they were out of its range before slumping over, exhausted and panting for breath.

In the ear- ringing silence that followed, Peeta could swear he heard his father's voice calling out to them in the smoke- filled air. Far in the distance, the faintest cries of, "Peeta, son! Katniss! Where are you!?"

"Father!" he called out. "Father, we're here!"

"Uncle Arthur!" Katniss chimed in, "Help us; we're over here!"

There was no answering reply. They called and called until their throats were raw and the smoke had cleared and they were forced to accept defeat. Arthur Mellark was gone, and all they had for company was the surly sailor, Abernathy, with nothing ahead of them but endless ocean.

"Mr. Abernathy, do you think we'll ever find my daddy again?" Peeta asked after several hours of silence. The sun was now high in the sky, marking the time as noon, and still there was no sign of any of the other survivors from the shipwreck. The best they had managed to do was gather from the water a few small bits of debris from the shipwreck, a barrel of some kind that Mr. Abernathy seemed ecstatic about, and their biggest find- a trunk filled with clothing, photos, and even some dried beef and hardtack bread. It had clearly belonged to one of the families aboard the ship.

"Haymitch," the sailor said. "The name's Haymitch, and you better start callin' me that from now on. Looks like we're gonna be spending a lot of time together."

"Haymitch, do you think we'll find my father?"

The man sighed, shoulders hunched and defeated. "I don't know son. I don't know. Let's focus on getting to land for now." Peeta nodded and bit his lip, squaring his small shoulders. Katniss had not uttered a single word since she had given up calling out for help. He reached out and grasped her trembling fingers in his, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

Having not a clue which way to head for land, the trio drifted aimlessly through the ocean with not a single ship or piece of land in sight. They lived sparingly off the dried beef and hardtack biscuits from the trunk. Haymitch was surprisingly full of stories to occupy his small charges. "You see just there where the sun touches the sea?" He said during their second sunset aboard the tiny craft. "It boils the water. Can't you hear it bubbling?" The children strained their ears, listening intently for the sound.

"I don't hear anything," Katniss said dubiously, crossing her arms and scowling.

"I do!" Peeta smiled widely. "Listen closer, Katniss!" She did. She put her whole body into it, desperate for the faintest sound of the bubbling ocean. "Do you hear it yet?" Peeta prompted. She strained harder.

"I think… I think I do. I hear it!" she exclaimed. Sure enough, she could just make out the sound of the boiling the water in the distant horizon. Peeta smiled triumphantly. He looped an arm around her, and her head fell to his shoulder at once. The comfort of his body and the sound of the bubbling sea were enough to lure her into a dreamy unconsciousness.

When next Katniss awoke, it was to the joyful cry of Haymitch. "Land, ho!" the sailor was shouting. Peeta blinked blearily in the dawning light, extracting himself from Katniss to see for himself. And there it was. A mass of land in the middle of the ocean, a strip of pure white sand feeding into a massive jungle of trees. It was clearly no civilization, but it was something. Haymitch grabbed the oars and propelled them closer to the island. "Pray for fresh water," he was saying. "That's all we need, an' we can live there 'til someone comes for help."

It felt like ages until the boat hit the shore and they were free of its confines at last. Peeta hopped out into the shallow lagoon on unsteady legs before giving Katniss a lift out of the boat. Together with Haymitch doing most of the work, the trio hauled the boat and their scarce provisions to the beach. The sand burned beneath their feet, the sun blazing overhead, but in that moment the place felt like the closest thing in the world to home.

A quick scan of the beach revealed no fresh water, but Haymitch insisted the jungle was the most promising place to look. To the surprise of the children, he pulled a knife from his ankle before entering the mass of trees. "Stay close to me," he growled. His tone was enough for Katniss and Peeta to nod fervently at his command.

But they found obeying him was much more difficult in once in the middle of the forest. Plant and animals they had never dreamed of abounded every which way. Brightly colored flowers that wafted dizzying scents into their nostrils, fresh green leaves glistening with dew, even normally mundane animals like the birds and frogs were splashed with the brightest colors imaginable. To a boy such as Peeta, who saw beauty in the smallest things, the place was heaven. To his left, Katniss watched as a tree lizard scrambled up the trunk and disappeared into the leaves of the tallest tree she had ever seen. She wondered if she could climb up there too, just like the lizard. Maybe she could see heaven from there, just as she had atop the bowsprit of the ship in what felt like a lifetime ago.

"Look!" Peeta cried out. He was pointing to a patch of greenery that was practically bursting with plump, dark purple fruits. "Blueberries!" His ravenous stomach grumbled in delight as he ran toward them, greedy fists outstretched, intent on grabbing the finest, juiciest berries. The fruit was halfway to his lips when Haymitch, recognizing the berries with a horrible lurch to his stomach, slapped it out of the boy's hand.

"Stop! Them ain't blueberries!" Shocked by the older man's outburst, Peeta's full lower lip trembled, tears gathering in his eyes. Noticing the boy's distress, Haymitch knelt down before him. "I don't mean to scare you, son. But those-" he pointed to the bush of seemingly innocent fruit- "are called nightlock berries. If you eat 'em, you'll… you'll never wake up, see?" Peeta nodded, sniffling. "You, too, sweetheart," Haymitch said, pointing to Katniss. "Both of you, promise me now never to eat these, no matter what."

"We promise," the children chanted together.

"Good. Les' get a move on now, we still gotta find fresh water." Peeta wiped his moist eyes with the back of his hand and continued to follow the older man, a sense of caution now laden in every step he took.

The trio traipsed through the trees for another ten minutes or so before happening upon a small pool surrounded by mossy boulders and complete with a trickling waterfall. Haymitch headed for it immediately, cutting vines and leaves down at random in his hasty path. He stuck a filthy, paw- like hand into the pool and drank deeply. He gave a great sigh when the water touched his parched tongue: it was fresh, and the best thing he had ever tasted. It might even be better than the Captain's finest rum.

"Drink," he instructed the children. He was already worried about them; Katniss in particular. She seemed so weak and frail and she hadn't had a proper meal in days. The children jumped right into the shallow pool after drinking their fill, splashing and playing in the cool water. Haymitch took the opportunity to venture a little farther into the jungle in search of food, but not so far that he couldn't hear the children's shrieks of laughter.

Nothing edible met his eyes, but he soon came to a small clearing. The place was perfectly round with a large, flat boulder sitting dead center. Shivers ran up his spine, raising the hairs on the back of his neck, though he had no clue why. A twig cracked in the vicinity and he turned his head in time to see a long, brown tail whipping into the foliage across the clearing. He tried to slow his racing heart. _Perhaps a monkey?_ He wondered. He'd never seen one in person, but knew the species from photographs, courtesy of the other sailors he'd met in his travels. Many of them had been to exotic places. Generally, they were more interested in exotic women than anything else, but they had also told him of wondrous creatures in other parts of the world.

Then his gaze met a pair of eyes lingering in the foliage that disappeared in the split second that he spotted them. Certainly they belonged to an animal… another monkey perhaps? Surely not aggressive, but he had to admit to himself that he knew next to nothing about the species that inhabited jungles such as this. The entire situation was probably perfectly normal. He must be reading too much into it. Yet there was something off about the creature's eyes that made Haymitch uneasy. It was a gut feeling, at best.

His increasingly panicked gaze wandered back to the rock in the middle of the clearing, to something he had missed upon first inspection. He squinted to see that what he had first thought were grooves in the rock were in fact carved symbols. They were entirely foreign to him, as he was illiterate in any language, but one thing was for certain- animals did not do that. Equally unsettling were the dark red stains trailing from the flat surface of the rock to the ground below looked suspiciously like…

The sailor turned tail and ran faster than he had in his life through the short path that had led him to the place and back to the pool where his small charges still splashed in the pool, oblivious to his distress.

"Drink up!" he barked a little too loudly at the kids. "We're headin' back to the beach before dark to make camp for the night." Whatever it took to get them away from this place.

"Katniss? Peeta?" Haymitch said later by the bonfire they'd built of the strip of sand between the jungle and the shore. "I want you to listen very closely to me." The sailor's uncharacteristic seriousness caught and held both children's attention. "You're _never_ to go to the other side of the island. D'ya hear me? Nowhere past the freshwater pool."

"But why?" Katniss asked, her dark eyebrows furrowed.

"Because… because it's the _law_ ," Haymitch said. "You know what laws are, right?" Two small heads bobbed up and down. "Right. Same as the nightlock berries. So… so you obey the laws or bad things'll happen. Understand?"

"Yes," the kids whispered in awed unison.

Once the little rugrats were sound asleep by the fire, Haymitch cracked open the barrel of rum they had salvaged from the shipwreck at last. It was the first time since their days at sea that he'd been able to partake, and nothing had ever tasted finer. The alcohol burned his throat going down, dulling his senses and relaxing his overwrought mind. Between the poisonous berries, the strange animals, and the dreadful unknown, he was certain that keeping those two kids alive was going to be the death of him.

But he managed to do just that. What's more, the mismatched little trio _thrived_ on the bounty of the island. Each morning that greeted them with a dwindled signal fire and no ships to be found was an opportunity to make the place feel a little more like home. Under Haymitch's guidance, they thrashed together palm fronds to build three sturdy walls and a roof to form a lean- to for shelter. He taught Katniss and Peeta to swim and fish and hunt, all three of which the kids took to easily. Even when the rum barrel ran dry and the tremors wracked his body, the old sailor struggled through for them.

He spent his days chasing them down the beach with the clothing they had long since abandoned. Both children preferred the freedom nudity offered in this tropical paradise, but it simply wasn't proper. It was his job to keep them civilized for the moment when they would finally enter society again. That day, however, seemed less and less likely to arrive as the weeks dragged into months and the months into years. Two years, to be exact, if the markings on the big tree were correct. Seven hundred and thirty gouges, one for each day spent on the island. Tomorrow it would be seven hundred and thirty- one, thirty- two after that, and so it would go until they perished here. Haymitch was certain that any search parties had long since given up on the possibility of finding them. They might not have even been looking in the first place. It was most likely assumed that three of them had perished in the explosion with the others aboard the ship.

Yet each time Peeta asked him with wide blue eyes if his father was still out there looking for them, Haymitch answered in the affirmative. He couldn't bear to take the hope away from the little boy who was quickly growing into adolescence.

Katniss too was growing up, and with it, her curiosity blossomed. She was a born adventurer, and without the constraints of society she was free to explore all she wanted. As long as she didn't venture past the freshwater pool, of course. But every day she wondered exactly what lay past that point; she was positively dying to know. Peeta begged her to forget about it. He trusted Haymitch entirely and would never betray the laws their elder had set. But still Katniss wondered.

The opportunity finally arose on the day when seven hundred and forty- six marks were carved into the big tree. Haymitch sent Katniss alone to get water while he and Peeta gathered wood to replenish their signal fire. Ominous gray clouds were fast approaching on the horizon, and they needed fresh supplies before the storm ravaged their tiny paradise.

Katniss tread through the trees on feet as light as air along the well- worn path to pond. The woven basket on her arm was filled with empty rum bottles that clinked together and mixed with the musical notes of the birds' overhead in a peaceful symphony. She filled the bottles one by one when she arrived at the pool and after a few quick gulps of the fresh clear water; she was ready to turn back for home. But her eyes settled on the trees ahead, looming and mysterious and oh so tempting. Her eyes searched her surroundings, positive that Haymitch or Peeta would appear and she would be caught, but neither of the two men was in sight. Figuring she would be quick, she left the basket of full bottles at the edge of the pool and ventured forward for the first time in all her days on this island.

She walked for a short distance, finding nothing spectacular and wondering why this part of the forest was forbidden, before finally coming to the perfectly round clearing. Spotting the large boulder in the center at once, she did not hesitate before scrambling to the very top. _Like a little monkey_ , Haymitch would say. Katniss was always the one to scale the palm trees in search of fresh coconuts. She accepted the title with pride. It was something at which she finally bested Peeta, who usually beat her at everything thanks to his burgeoning strength. Glancing straight up from her position at the top of the rock at the mass of swirling gray clouds unimpeded by the foliage of the surrounding trees, they seemed even closer than before. Like an enormous wool blanket was bearing down upon them, smothering the island with heavy, humid air. The smallest bit of fear twisted her stomach. She really needed to get back before the storm hit.

The climb down was more difficult that going up had been, with no idea where her footholds might be. Katniss searched blindly for the grooves in the rock with her bare feet, hindered by her emerging sense of dread. As the place grew darker with the encroaching storm, it seemed more sinister than before. Twisted shadows lingered in the periphery of the clearing. Lightening flashed in the distance. And worst of all, the birds were no longer singing. It was as if they sensed danger themselves and fled to safety.

Such a hurry she was in to leave the clearing that she tripped over a rut in the ground before she could make her exit. She fell face- first into the forest floor, and she looked up to find that she was face- to face with a pair of glowing eyes. Her heart leapt into her throat, pounding violently in fear. The eyes held hers and instinct told her not to look away. That this was some kind of standoff and terrible things would happen if she were to lose. As soon as she made this resolution, hers eyes began to sting and water with discomfort. She fought the urge, but it was futile.

She blinked. All hell broke loose.

The creature lunged for her and she let out a howling scream. She tried to get up but she had twisted her ankle in the fall and she fell back down again in a heap of pain. Suddenly there was not one but several of the creatures bearing down on her. Great, furry monkeys, even larger than the first and more terrifying besides. A rock lay on the ground next to her hand and she used it to smash several of them over the head, but there were simply too many.

She had resigned herself to a dreadful end, certain to be mauled by these terrible creatures when a pair of hands hauled her up strong arms and began running through the forest. It could only be Haymitch, Katniss realized. But the creatures followed, and there was only so much the sailor could do with a single knife and his arms occupied with the adolescent girl. Peeta appeared out of nowhere, and Haymitch handed her over to him. He slung her arm around his shoulders for support, and she could see the strip of white sand just visible between the trees. _So close_ , Katniss thought as Peeta half- dragged, half- carried her to the beach. Surely, they could enter the water for refuge from the onslaught of screaming monkeys.

At last, the warm water lapped around her feet as they made it to the ocean. Peeta loosened his grip on her and turned to find Haymitch. But he was nowhere to be found.

"Haymitch!" Peeta cried out in desperation. "Haymitch, where are you?"

They didn't have long to brood. A figure that could only be the old sailor stumbled from the forest. No monkeys followed. They seemed reluctant to leave the sanctuary of their jungle. But any thought of the killer animals left Katniss's mind as Haymitch collapsed into the sand. Forgetting about her twisted ankle in that instant, the girl rushed to his side. It was only upon approach that she saw the dark, wet stain on his abdomen seeping through the fabric of his shirt. He was hurt. Badly. "No," she whispered. Two deep puncture wounds marred his chest. Teeth marks. Her tiny hands went to the wound at once in a feeble attempt to staunch the rapid flow of blood, but her efforts were in vain.

"Sweetheart," the old sailor croaked, panting with the effort of speech. Katniss pulled his head into her lap, tears spilling down her tanned and freckled cheeks. Peeta had arrived just after Katniss to the scene. His face was white as a sheet. "Peeta, m'boy." Peeta grasped the man's hand in response. "You'll be… fine…you're… survivors, y'are." Haymitch's breath came out in strangled wheezes. His end was near, and there was nothing the children could do for him. A more helpless feeling they had never known. "Jus… jus obey the… laws. Promise me." A glint of his old steel flooded his eyes just then, and both children nodded.

"We will," Peeta whispered. "We promise. Thank you, Haymitch." Katniss nodded fervently beside them, unable to say anything for fear of unleashing an unstoppable tidal wave of emotion.

"An' stay… alive."

Before the two kids could agree to this second promise, the old man had closed his eyes. His heaving chest slowed to a stop. His limbs went still. He did not open his eyes again.

He was gone. And Katniss and Peeta were all alone.

* * *

The pair remained beside their fallen mentor all night as the fat droplets of rain gradually washed away the rivulets of blood from his lifeless form. It was the longest storm they had ever witnessed on the island. It was as though the heavens were reflecting Katniss's own grief back at her. The guilt in her gut lingered until dawn finally broke, a watery sun breaking through the cover of clouds.

"I can't stay here anymore, Peeta," Katniss said. Her eyes were stormy gray and rimmed with red. His eyes matched hers, but he had to be strong for her. He took hold of her hand.

"We'll leave then. Go to the smaller island across the lagoon. We'll start fresh over there."

And so they spent the next day packing up their few, precious belongings in the rowboat and prepared to take their leave. It was sunset when they were finally ready. Peeta was just about to heave the boat into the water when Katniss cried out, "Wait!"

She hopped out of the boat and tentatively approached Haymitch's body. It didn't feel right, leaving him this way. The man, brash as he was, had been everything to them. And now thanks to her, he was gone. She broke the law and this was the consequence. Knowing that was enough to tear her fragile heart in two.

A small patch of wildflowers grew on a grassy bank nearby; she gathered as many as she could fit in her arms. Slowly, methodically, she arranged them around the old sailor's face and body, covering the awful wound in his chest with a bouquet of the prettiest blooms. When she was done, he finally looked at peace.

Katniss jumped when Peeta put an arm around her. She hadn't even known he was there, but she melted into his embrace almost instantly. He pressed a kiss to her temple and she tried to keep the tears at bay. "Goodbye, Haymitch," Peeta whispered. Choked by the lump in her throat, Katniss could only nod in agreement. _I'm sorry_ , she thought.

The pair turned away from the body, and together they headed off into the bubbling sea to their new home.


End file.
